Battle of Altamid IV
starship |strength2 = B'rel-class Klingon Bird-of-Prey |shiploss1 = [[USS Discovery (NCC-71021)|USS Discovery]] |shiploss2 = Klingon ship damaged |casualties1 = Minimal crew loss |casualties2 = }} The Battle of Altamid IV was a confrontation between the [[USS Discovery (NCC-71021)|USS Discovery]] and a renegade Klingon Bird-of-Prey. The conflict took place in close proximity to Altamid IV, in 2378. The Bird-of-Prey's involvement in the engagement was in revenge for previous affairs with the Federation. Although Discovery would of outmatched the Bird-of-Prey under normal conditions, the crew of the Klingon ship exploited a weakness in the Discovery's defenses and was thereby able to inflict severe damage to the enemy ship. The damage Discovery suffered during the battle ultimately led to the loss of the ship. Prelude After the collapse of the Cardassian Union at the end of the Dominion War, former Cardassian agent, Sanara sought to reestablish the empire and return Cardassia to its former glory. To this end, she forged an alliance with Duran sisters L'Tora and Kalanna. On an inspection of the Solarian observatory, Lieutenant Commanders T'Shara and Detmer, Sanara assaulted T'Shara and captured her, transporting herself and T'Shara to the Duran sisters' ship. The craft set a course for the Altamid system while Sanara interrogated T'Shara. Discovery subsequently pursued and intercepted the Klingon vessel. Although Sanara ordered the destruction of Discovery, L'Tora pointed out their ship was completely outgunned by the Galaxy-class starship. Using a Dominion cloak and transporter, Sanara went aboard Discovery and made her way to engineering. There she found what she was looking for. She saw the Discovery's shields were operating on a frequency modulation of 514.8. Sanara copied this data and returned to the Klingon ship. She handed the data over to the sisters then beam down to the planet's surface. Preparing the Bird-of-Prey to attack the Discovery, L'Tora directed that the frequency of the ship's photon torpedoes be adjusted to match Discovery's shield frequency, then delightedly moved a scope into place. The battle The engagement commenced when the Klingon Bird-of-Prey fired a couple of consecutively photon torpedoes at Discovery. These projectiles easily penetrated the Starfleet vessel's shields, impacting the secondary hull. As the Discovery started to rotate starboard, the ship returned fire using phasers, but the impact had no effect on the Klingon vessel, being stopped by the Bird-of-Prey's shield. The Klingons retaliated by firing a disruptor blast at the Discovery. The Klingons return fire caused an explosion at one of the starboard stations on Discovery's bridge. This sent an officer who had been manning the station flying to the deck and showered debris, severely injuring several personnel. Captain Tyson ordered the conn officer to bring Discovery out of orbit, but the ship was suffering a hull breach on decks thirty through thirty-four. Discovery slowly backed off from its attacker, completing its rotation away from the Bird-of-Prey. However, the Klingon vessel persisted with its onslaught, as the Discovery's wounded crew members were being carried off the bridge. Two disruptor shots again struck Discovery's hull, a third shot struck the ship's port warp nacelle. In main engineering, another eruption knocked another crewman down. Detmer issued orders to the other engineers. Aboard the Bird-of-Prey, the helm officer informed L'Tora that their shields were still holding. L'Tora responded by ordering the crew to fire at will. The Bird-of-Prey fired three more pairs of disruptor bolts. The first two passed straight through Discovery's shields without hitting the ship. Thus, only the third volley had any effect, striking Discovery's starboard nacelle. Onboard Discovery, Tyson instructed Ramirez to fire a photon torpedo at the Klingon vessel. Meanwhile, in main engineering, Detmer finds the magnetic interlocks have been ruptured, and while reporting to Tyson, a plasma coolant begins violently leaking out of the warp core and informs Tyson she cant shut it down and gives an estimate of five minutes until a warp core breach. Tyson ordered Commander Sullivan to evacuate everyone to the saucer section and told T'Shara to prepare to separate the ship's hull. She then ordered Ramirez to ready a spread of torpedoes when the bridge received its biggest blow yet; just when Tyson ordered Ramirez to ready the torpedo spread, a blast which consumed the aft stations in smoke and debris also thrust an officer across the room's wooden handrail, sending him tumbling over the command stations before he landed on the floor. The crew and their families hurry to evacuate the stardrive section with Dr. McAllister leading her staff and patients out of sickbay and Detmer guiding the crew to the safer locations. Savoring the almost imminent victory, Kalanna ordered their crew to target Discovery's bridge with disruptors. Instead, Discovery fired a barrage of torpedoes that managed to hit the Klingon vessel, disabling it long enough for Discovery to separate. Aftermath After the breach nears critical and with the crew clear of the stardrive section, the ship separates and begins to move out of range. However, the core breaches prematurely, completely destroying the damaged stardrive section of Discovery and creating a shock wave that propels the Klingon ship into space and pushes the saucer section into the atmosphere of Altamid IV, disabling all helm controls. On the bridge, the crew watches in horror as they begin to plummet toward the surface of the planet. Careening out of control towards the planet, the bridge crew desperately to regain control of what's left of their ship as the rest of the crew seeks safety as best they can on the lower decks. T'Shara was able to route the remaining auxiliary power to the lateral thrusters in an attempt to stabilize Discovery's decent as Tyson ordered the crew to brace for impact. As the ground rushes toward them on the viewscreen, the saucer impacts the surface, forcing it back into the air. As the crew fights to regain control, the saucer nosedives into the ground, destroying all remaining functions and knocking the crew to the deck. With their fates now left to chance, the bridge crew protects themselves anyway they can as Discovery skids a lush forested area, cutting a large swath of destruction. Fires burn and structural support rain down from the top of the bridge as the crew weathers the horrific ride. With one final lurch forward, the momentum slows and the saucer finally comes to a stop. The crew regains their senses and survey the damage. What was once an immaculate nerve center for the Federation vessel is now completely destroyed; the large viewscreen has been shattered, consoles and displays are burnt out, chair ripped out from the floor and the only light comes from the broken top of the bridge dome as the blue Altamid sky shines in from above. Discovery is down. "Captain's log, stardate 55048.2. Three Starfleet vessels have arrived in orbit and have started beaming up the ''Discovery ''survivors. Fortunately our casualties were light. Unfortunately ''Discovery could not be salvaged''." The following day, after Sanara's defeat, three Starfleet ships: a Nebula-class, a Excelsior-class, and a Nova-class have begun a salvage effort. In the ship's destroyed cargo bay, crewmembers carry belongings and patients out while T'Shara and Thacker use tricorders to look for survivors. In what's left of Tyson's ready room, Commander Sullivan and Captain Tyson retrieve Tyson's belongings under the broken pieces of the room's furniture and move out onto the bridge, a burnt out shell of its former glory. Sullivan laments about how Discovery brought them together and Tyson relates to Sullivan her thoughts. They stand near the center chairs and survey the damage. After 11 years of calling Discovery home, Tyson and Sullivan take one last look around their destroyed starship and Tyson signals the Nebula-class starship Phoenix for two to beam up. The Phoenix, along with the Excelsior-class and Nova-class starships go to warp leaving Altamid IV and the wreckage of Discovery behind. Category:Battles